Faded Memories
by RaiLei
Summary: "Memories are nice, but that's all they are."


"_Memories are nice, but that's all they are."_

Yuna had thought of that multiple times over the past two years.

She _knew_ she was clinging to the past.

She _knew_ the Fayth were gone.

Wakka didn't say anything when she'd stare into the fire pit in the village square. It was the first place she'd met him.

Lulu would just smile and sit with Yuna, listening to the brunette's troubles.

The villagers didn't quite understand the High Summoner's disposition – she defeated Sin, she brought the Eternal Calm, her name would be known for generations. She had many reasons to celebrate. Besides, they had never been fond of the outsider who washed up on the beach.

Then, Rikku had arrived one day on a scavenged airship a sphere of _him_ in hand.

She knew the looks Wakka and Lulu would exchange behind her back; they would think Rikku was enabling her – dangling the one thing Yuna wanted in front of her.

That was why she decided to leave with Rikku in the middle of the night. She wanted a break from the monotony of Besaid Island; it was time she did something for herself. And this time, she could see Spira knowing she wasn't marching to her death or having to watch her back every step upon being branded a traitor to Yevon.

Despite trying to see the world and find peace with her past, sometimes, she felt like she did when she began her journey to Zanarkand, forcing a brave façade to hide her inner turmoil. The further she delved into the mystery of Spira's past, the questions kept piling up around her, making her head spin as there was no answer in sight.

Who was Lenne?

Why was _he_ so intent to find her?

Could it be . . . was Lenne his lover back in Zanarkand? Had he realized he had no way back home and needed to forge a new life in a strange, new world?

Yuna could sense Paine watching her reactions every time a new sphere or revelation was discovered – it was obvious Paine wasn't fooled by her façade.

Then Vegnagun disappeared and the fragile structure of Spira started to collapse in on itself once again.

Spira's leaders started to disappear one by one and slowly everyone started to look to Yuna for guidance. They believed that if she could rid the world of Sin, she could lead them out of the darkness once more.

It was in that moment she could see why Paine told her the world wasn't her responsibility and why Gippal was reluctant to accept her help.

Then, the aeon's reappeared. Briefly, she wondered if the Fayth returned . . . would their dream return as well? But, one by one, the aeons had to be destroyed; the fiends they sent forth from the temples causing a state of emergency amid the chaos of Spira's leaders' disappearances.

And, that was when Yuna learned the truth.

She was on a fools' errand – the boy in sphere didn't belong to her.

It _never_ was him.

It was Shuyin.

He attempted to steal Vegnagun to save Lenne.

Having never been sent, he still clung to the Spira of the past.

With the Fayth gone, Yuna couldn't send him.

He was the cause of the aeons returning, they were guarding the entrances to the Farplane – the place where Shuyin was hiding Vegnagun until the time was right.

That's why Spira's leaders' vanished – they had suffered at his hands within the Cave of Woe. They knew what he was truly capable of.

With the knowledge of what happened to Shuyin and Lenne through the spheres they found – alongside Maechen's knowledge of the Machina War – they came to one realization.

Only Lenne could stop Shuyin – the final battle for Spira would come down to the Songstress dressphere.

As they dived into the Farplane entrance in Bevelle, Yuna hoped this would work.

They were out of time.

# # #

With Vegnagun in ruins and left behind in the Farplane, Yuna felt lighter.

Lenne's conscious had been freed from the Songstress dressphere after a thousand years.

Shuyin, who had wandered a thousand years for closure, finally found it.

Spira's leaders had returned; the turmoil between New Yevon and the Youth League wiped away.

_It's alright_, she thought to herself as she stood in the bridge with Rikku and Paine. _I'll always have our memories_.

They would remain even should the Besaid Temple burn down one day.

They would remain when the Macalania Woods withered away, taking the spring where they confessed their feelings along with it.

Now that her feelings were separated from Lenne, she knew she didn't need to cling to physical places to remind her of her memories.

He would never fade from her memories, even if those places one day vanished.

"We're coming up on Besaid – looks like a welcome party is waiting for us too."

"_**Some idiot's in the water," Brother exclaimed, the Celsius banking slightly to the left. "Where are we to land now?"**_

"Cusa dteud'c eh dra fydan," Brother exclaimed, the Celsius banking slightly to the left. "Frana yna fa du myth huf?"

"Probably just the Auroch's training," Rikku waved it off, running down the steps as the Celsius righted itself. "Blitz season is starting – wait!"

Yuna smiled as she heard Brother shouting in Al Bhed as Rikku raised her voice in return, running across the bridge to where he sat at the helm. Taking in the activity of the bridge, she smiled as she turned on her heel, her mind finally clear. Throughout this ordeal, she had slowly come to terms with the fact that he was now a memory – he wasn't the boy in the sphere that sent her down this path.

She had already decided to give up her life the day she became a Summoner – he wouldn't have wanted her to waste it waiting around as life passed her by. She couldn't cling to the past anymore, she had to –

"Yunie! Come look! It's . . . it can't be . . ."

"Rikku?" Yuna raised an eyebrow, Rikku's tone of voice holding her firmly in place on the staircase.

"Hold on, I can magnify that," Shinra said, his fingers flying across his keyboard before the sphere in the center of the bridge lit up, showing the scenery below the Celsius.

Yuna felt like the wind had been knocked out of her as her heartbeat quickened. She would recognize that blonde hair anywhere.

"Tidus . . ."

Before anyone could say anything, Yuna turned on her heel, fleeing the bridge.

"I can't believe it," Rikku shook her head, hardly believing what she was seeing. "Yunie – wait up!" Rikku called, running after her. "Buddy – find somewhere to land, _now_!"

Yuna was focused on one thing as she descended in the elevator – Rikku's voice mere background noise.

She had spoken to the Fayth in the Farplane.

They didn't promise her anything, she hadn't expected anything to come from it.

But, she had ended their eternal slumber; maybe she did hope they could grant her wish.

As the elevator came to a shuddering stop, Yuna slipped through the door as soon as possible, adjusting her balance as she felt the Celsius slowing down in its descent.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she heard the hydraulics come to life, the ramp opening up, Besaid Island stretching out before her.

Unable to wait for the Celsius came to stop, Yuna jumped – she had waited two years for this moment.

The water was cold as it splashed her legs, but she didn't notice.

She only had eyes for one thing – pausing only to right her balance against the shallows under foot.

As Tidus turned to look at her, Yuna couldn't help the muffled sound of a cry as she raced towards him, arms outstretched.

The last time she saw him was after they defeated Yu Yevon, moments before the dream ended.

Unlike last time, Yuna crashed into him instead of _through _him. "Are you real?" She whispered, holding him tighter to her. Despite telling herself she wasn't going to cling to the past, she held onto him tighter. "Are you real?" she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder.

Tidus was quiet for a beat. "Do I pass?" his low voice eventually responded, drawing Yuna away from him, holding her gaze.

Yuna grinned, hearing the hesitance in his voice. "You're back," she nodded, affirming this just as much to herself. "Welcome home."

_. . . It all began when I saw this sphere of you . . ._

# # #

A/N: I recently picked up FFX/X2 for the PS4 and upon completing it . . . I was compelled to write this in the span of an hour or so.


End file.
